A MAN who “revels in his reputation as a man of violence” has been sent to jail for brandishing a firearm in a busy pub and then pulling a machete on a second hand car salesman and threatening to chop his arms off.

Swansea Crown Court heard Lee Glyn Howells had past convictions for 68 offences including for battery, assault, violent disorder, affray and possession of a lock-knife, and is currently subject to a football banning order.

Sentencing him to 33 months in prison, a judge told him Howells he clearly had not learnt his lesson from previous convictions.

Megan Gilchrist, prosecuting, said on February 12 this year police received an anonymous call from a phone box saying Howells had pulled a handgun at his brother in the Full Moon pub on High Street in Swansea city centre.

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When officers arrived both men were still in the premises. They were spoken to and searched, but both denied anything had happened, and no weapon was found. The court heard the landlord of the pub was “unwilling to help the police with their enquiries”.

However, when police subsequently retrieved CCTV footage from the pub which showed Howells holding a BB-handgun and pointing it at his brother, who fled the premises.

BB-guns fire plastic or metal pellets at high speed. They are considered firearms under UK law.

The second incident took place some 10 days later when Howells drove to a business called Affordable Cars on Fabian Way.

Miss Gilchrist said Howells had an agreement with the owner of the business that he could take vehicles from the forecourt - however the employee in the garage at the time did not know of the arrangement.

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The court heard Howells lost his temper with the member of staff and produced a machete from his van, threatening to chop the employee’s arms off. The terrified car salesman ran-off across the busy road.

Police tracked down Howells to a friend’s house in Townhill - a BB-gun was discovered under wooden pallets in the garden.

Howells, of Pen-y-Graig Road, Townhill , Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and to possession of an offensive weapon when he appeared via videolink for sentencing.

The court heard the 38-year-old has 40 previous convictions for 68 offences including for affray - when he was part of a group involved in an incident that saw a man stabbed in the back - battery, assault, violent disorder, possession of a knife, possession of a firearm, public order matters, criminal damage and possession of drugs.